UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PUBLICATIONS 

COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 

AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 

BERKELEY.  CALIFORNIA 


BLACK  MEASLES,  WATER  BERRIES, 
AND  RELATED  VINE  TROUBLES 


BY 

FREDERIC  T.  BIOLETTI 


BULLETIN  No.  358 

April,  1923 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   PRESS 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

1923 


David  P.  Barrows,  President  of  the  University. 


EXPERIMENT  STATION  STAFF 

HEADS  OF  DIVISIONS 
Thomas  Forsyth  Hunt,  Dean. 
Edward  J.  Wickson,  Horticulture  (Emeritus). 

,  Director  of  Resident  Instruction. 

C.  M.  Haring,  Veterinary  Science,  Director  of  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

B.  H.  Crocheron,  Director  of  Agricultural  Extension. 

C.  B.  Hutchison,  Plant  Breeding,  Director  of  the  Branch  of  the  College  of 

Agriculture  at  Davis. 
H.  J.  Webber,  Sub-tropical  Horticulture,  Director  of  Citrus  Experiment  Station. 
William  A.  Setchell,  Botany. 
Myer  E.  Jaffa,  Nutrition. 
Ralph  E.  Smith,  Plant  Pathology. 
John  W.  Gilmore,  Agronomy. 
Charles  F.  Shaw,  Soil  Technology. 
John  W.  Gregg,  Landscape  Gardening  and  Floriculture. 
Frederic  T.  Bioletti,  Viticulture  and  Fruit  Products. 
Warren  T.  Clarke,  Agricultural  Extension. 
Ernest  B.  Babcock,  Genetics. 
Gordon  H.  True,  Animal  Husbandry. 
Walter  Mulford,  Forestry. 
James  T.  Barrett,  Plant  Pathology. 
W.  P.  Kelley,  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
H.  J.  Quayle,  Entomology 
Elwood  Mead,  Rural  Institutions. 
H.  S.  Reed,  Plant  Physiology. 
L.  D.  Batchelor,  Orchard  Management. 
W.  L.  Howard,  Pomology. 
*Frank  Adams,  Irrigation  Investigations. 

C.  L.  Roadhouse,  Dairy  Industry. 
R.  L.  Adams,  Farm  Management. 

W.  B.  Herms,  Entomology  and  Parasitology. 
John  E.  Dougherty,  Poultry  Husbandry. 

D.  R.  Hoagland,  Plant  Nutrition. 
G.  H.  Hart,  Veterinary  Science. 

L.  J.  Fletcher,  Agricultural  Engineering. 
Edwin  C.  Voorhies,  Assistant  to  the  Dean. 


division  of  viticulture  and  fruit  products 

Frederic  T.  Bioletti  W.  V.  Cruess 

L.  O.  Bonnet  A.  W.  Christie 

A.  J.  Winkler  H.  E.  Jacob 


*  In  cooperation  with  Division  of  Agricultural  Engineering,  Bureau  of  Public  Roads,  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agriculture. 


BLACK  MEASLES,  WATER  BERRIES, 
AND  RELATED  VINE  TROUBLES 


BY 
FEEDEEIC  T.  BIOLETTI 


The  vine  in  California,  as  in  all  regions  where  it  is  grown  exten- 
sively, is  subject  to  diseases  whose  causes  have  not  been  exactly  deter- 
mined, and  for  which,  therefore,  completely  satisfactory  remedies  are 
lacking. 

Among  these  troubles  are  several  that  appear  related  in  their 
symptoms  and  which  are  therefore  probably  due  to  similar  causes. 
They  are  known  by  a  number  of  names  in  California,  e.g.,  Black 
Measles,  Spanish  Measles,  Black  Mildew,  Blight,  Anaheim  Disease, 
California  Disease,  Santa  Clara  Disease,  Top  Disease  and — when  first 
noticed  in  a  locality — the  "new"  or  "mysterious"  disease.  These 
diseases  seem  to  be  identical  with,  or  closely  allied  to,  similar  troubles 
occurring  in  southern  Europe,  especially  the  Brunissure,  and  also  to 
two  other  Californian  vine  troubles,  i.e.,  Water  Berries  and  Grape 
Shrivel. 

Diseases  of  this  nature  have  been  very  destructive  in  various  parts 
of  California.  Between  1884  and  1893  most  of  the  vineyards  of 
Los  Angeles  and  Orange  Counties,  estimated  at  over  20,000  acres,  were 
completely  destroyed.  Vineyards  covering  an  equally  large  area  were 
destroyed  between  1898  and  1900  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  vines  destroyed  in  the  great  epidemics,  numerous  sporadic 
cases  of  destruction  occur  in  most  of  the  vineyard  areas  every  year. 
The  total  number  of  vines  destroyed  or  injured  by  these  diseases  in 
California  has  probably  been  equal  to  the  number  of  those  destroyed 
by  Phylloxera. 

The  great  losses  occasioned  by  such  diseases  seem  to  justify  the 
publication  of  any  theory  which  offers  a  plausible  explanation  of  their 
cause  and  of  any  remedies  or  preventive  measures  which  offer  a  reason- 
able promise  of  relief  from  them. 

The  theory  advanced  here  is  based  chiefly  on  observations  of  the 
two  great  epidemics,  of  sporadic  cases  occurring  in  many  districts  over 
a  period  of  many  years,  and  on  a  consideration  of  the  coincident  en- 
vironmental conditions  in  the  various  cases.     Ij^is,  briefly,  that  these 


510  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

diseases  are  entirely  or  primarily  the  effect  on  the  vines  of  an  excess 
of  output  over  income  and  the  resulting  condition  of  starvation  or 
malnutrition. 

The  remedies  offered  are  those  which  naturally  suggest  them- 
selves, if  this  theory  is  accepted.  They  are  based  on  the  principle  of 
affording  some  means  of  keeping  a  proper  balance  between  the  de- 
mands on  the  vine  and  its  ability  to  perform,  and  consist  on  the 
one  hand,  in  measures  tending  toward  its  invigoration,  such  as 
improvements  in  irrigation,  cultivation,  soil  treatment  and  the  control 
of  known  pests  and  diseases;  and,  on  the  other,  in  measures  tending 
toward  apportioning  the  amount  of  crop  on  the  individual  vine,  arm 
or  cane,  in  accordance  with  its  size,  vigor  and  condition  of  nourish- 
ment. The  principal,  perhaps  the  sole,  measures  that  can  be  used  for 
the  latter  purpose  are  various  degrees  and  kinds  of  pruning  which 
determine  the  number  of  fruit  buds  on  which  a  vine  is  allowed  to 
expend  its  energies. 

Symptoms  and  types. — Some  of  the  names  used  for  these  diseases 
are  merely  synonyms  applied  to  the  same  group  of  symptoms,  but 
others  represent  more  or  less  distinct  groups. 

The  chief  symptoms  to  be  observed  are  various  spots,  patches,  and 
dead  areas  on  the  leaves,  with  various  brown,  red,  and  yellow  colora- 
tions; spotting,  softening,  and  premature  drying  of  the  fruit,  with 
lack  of  sugar,  acid,  color,  and  flavor;  dying  back  of  the  tips  of  the 
shoots ;  uneven  or  imperfect  ripening  of  the  canes,  which  are  deficient 
in  starch;  dark  spots  and  streaks  in  the  wood;  short  growth  and 
dying  of  arms,  branches,  and  in  the  worst  cases  death  of  whole  vines 
and  whole  vineyards. 

All  of  these  symptoms  do  not  usually  appear  in  an  individual 
case  and  various  combinations  of  them  may  occur.  Some  of  them 
may  also  occur  in  cases  which  can  be  traced  to  other  well-known  causes. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  so  many  names  have  been  used.  It  is  often 
difficult  to  say  in  an  individual  case  whether  the  trouble  should  be 
called  "Measles"  or  "California  Disease"  or  something  else.  This 
difficulty  occurs  especially  in  mild  or  incipient  cases.  Even  Mr.  Newton 
B.  Pierce,  who  had  studied  the  disease  longer  than  any  other  investi- 
gator, would  seldom  diagnose  a  case  as  one  of  California  Disease  until 
it  had  progressed  almost  to  an  obviously  fatal  stage. 

The  various  cases,  however,  may  be  divided  into  a  few  types 
representing  groups  of  apparently  related  individual  instances. 

Type  I.  California  (or  Anaheim)  Vine  Disease  and  Santa  Clara 
Disease. — This  is  an  epidemic  form  which  has  resulted  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  whole  vineyards.     Two  serious  attacks  of  this  nature  have 


Bulletin  358]  BLACK  MEASLES  AND  WATER  BERRIES  511 

occurred  in  southern  California — one  in  1885-1886  and  one  in  1890- 
1892.  These  epidemics  destroyed  most  of  the  vineyards  in  the  most 
thickly  planted  areas  of  the  district.  Another  even  more  destructive 
attack  of  the  same  kind  occurred  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  in 
1897-1899. 

Type  II.  Black  Measles,  Spanish  Measles,  Black  Mildew. — These 
names  are  simply  local  variations  in  nomenclature  for  the  same  group 
or  groups  of  symptoms.  This  type  is  distinguished  from  the  first 
simply  by  the  distribution  of  the  affected  vines  and  by  the  milder 
form  in  which  it  generally  occurs.  It  is  usually  confined  to  certain 
parts  of  a  vineyard  and  to  certain  vines  or  even  to  parts  of  a  single 
vine.  Its  distribution  is  sporadic,  but  it  occurs  in  nearly  all  districts 
of  low  rainfall,  whether  irrigation  is  practiced  in  the  locality  or  not. 

Type  III.  Water  Berries  and  Grape-shrivel. — These  names  indi- 
cate variations  of  the  same  type.  The  first  occurs  most  commonly  in 
irrigated  districts,  and  the  second  in  districts  which  depend  entirely 
on  rain  for  their  water  supply.  They  both  differ  from  the  other  two 
types  in  that  their  symptoms  are  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  fruit, 
which  is  soft,  watery,  and  tasteless,  and  in  Grape-shrivel  finally  dries 
up  without  maturing. 

The  various  types  seem  to  be  stages  of  the  same  disease,  or  different 
degrees  of  malnutrition  in  the  vine. 

In  Water  Berries  the  vine  has  been  overtaxed  only  enough  to 
prevent  the  proper  nourishment  and  complete  development  of  the 
fruit.  The  only  symptoms  present  are  lack  of  quality  in  the  fruit 
and  short  growth  and  immaturity  of  the  wood.  It  is  a  common  thing 
to  see  these  symptoms  on  single  spurs  or  branches  of  a  vine  which 
otherwise  appear  perfectly  healthy. 

In  Black  Measles  and  in  the  California  Disease  any  or  all  of  the 
symptoms  listed  may  occur.  These  types  are  distinguished  from  each 
other  only  by  their  distribution,  the  former  being  scattered  and 
sporadic,  the  latter  unsparing  and  epidemic.  They  appear  to  repre- 
sent a  chronic  state  of  the  same  conditions  which  cause  Water  Berries. 
Over-bearing  for  one  year  produces  Water  Berries.  Overbearing 
for  two  years  or  more  produces  Black  Measles  or  California  Disease. 

Relation  of  Crop  and  Water  Supply. — When  the  incidence  of  these 
diseases  is  compared  with  the  coinciding  variations  in  rainfall  and  in 
crop,  it  appears  that  a  close  connection  exists  between  the  three  factors. 

It  is  generally  recognized  by  local  observers  that  a  mean  annual 
rainfall  of  16  inches  is  the  minimum  that  may  be  expected,  in  unirri- 
gated  vineyards,  to  give  a  full  crop.  In  districts  where  the  mean 
annual  rainfall  is  less  than  this,  and  during  periods  of  light  rains, 


512  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

the  crops  are  correspondingly  diminished.  Where  the  variations  are 
great  between  different  years,  the  crops  vary  on  the  whole  with  the 
rainfall.  The  variations  of  both  crop  and  rainfall  may  range  from 
one  to  four,  or  more,  in  such  districts.  In  irrigated  vineyards  a 
similar  correspondence  between  the  amount  of  water  given  to  the  soil 
and  the  amount  of  crop  yielded  by  the  vine  is  also  frequently  ob- 
served. The  correspondence  in  this  case  is  not  quite  so  clear,  owing 
to  the  liability  of  injuring  the  vine  and  its  crop  by  over-irrigation  or 
by  irrigating  at  the  wrong  time. 

The  crop  may  also  vary  almost  as  much  in  different  vineyards  and 
in  different  years  according  to  the  method  of  pruning  employed,  i.e., 
according  to  the  amount  of  fruiting  wood  left  on  the  vine. 

If  it  can  be  shown,  therefore,  that  the  diseases  under  discussion 
occur  principally  when  the  amount  of  water  which  the  soil  receives 
is  low  and  when  the  crop  is  large,  a  plausible  explanation  for  them 
has  been  found  and  a  method  of  protection  against  them  indicated. 

The  California  Disease.1 — The  relation  of  crop  and  rainfall  to 
diseases  of  type  I  was  first  pointed  out  by  Bioletti  and  Twight  in  1901 
in  a  report  on  the  dying  of  vines  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  during 
the  years  1898-1899  and  1899-1900.  In  this  report,  after  enumerat- 
ing several  contributory  or  predisposing  conditions,  such  as  gravelly 
soil,  large  pruning  wounds,  old  age  of  the  vines  and  spring  frosts, 
the  principal  or  general  cause  of  the  destruction  is  given  as  ".  .  . 
the  combined  effects  of  the  heavy  crops  of  1896  and  1897  and  the 
four  years  of  drought  which  followed." 

This  conclusion  was  reached  after  a  comparison  of  the  crops  with 
the  annual  rainfall  computed  from  January  1  to  December  31.  The 
evidence  is  even  stronger  if  the  comparison  is  made  with  the  seasonal 
rainfall  computed  from  the  first  of  July  to  the  end  of  June  of  the 
following  year.    The  seasonal  rainfall  is  shown  graphically  in  chart  1. 

The  seasonal  rainfalls  from  the  autumn  of  1891  to  the  spring  of 

1895  were  large,  averaging  19.48  inches,  or  128  per  cent  of  the  normal 
of  15.23  inches.  This  condition  tended  to  promote  the  production  of 
good  crops,  while  as  the  rains  were  regular  as  well  as  abundant  the 
vines  remained  vigorous  and  healthy.     During  the  seasons  of  1895- 

1896  and  1896-1897  the  rainfalls  were  very  close  to  normal  and  in  the 
latter  season  the  crop  was  extremely  large.  The  result  undoubtedly 
was  that  in  the  spring  of  1897  many  vines  were  more  or  less  weakened 
by  over-bearing. 

i  Descriptions  of  this  type  of  the  disease  have  been  published  by  Newton 
B.  Pierce  in  "The  California  Vine  Disease,' '  Bulletin  2,  Division  of  Vegetable 
Pathology,  U.  S.  D.  A.,  1892,  and  by  Bioletti  and  Twight  in  "Report  on  Con- 
ditions of  Vineyards  in  Portions  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,"  Bulletin  134, 
Agr.  Exp.  Station,  University  of  California,  1901. 


Bulletin  358] 


BLACK   MEASLES  AND  WATER   BERRIES 


513 


'Probably  no  serious  results  would  have  ensued  if  the  season  of 
1897-1898  had  been  one  of  abundant  rainfall,  or  if  the  crop  had  been 
curtailed  by  shorter  pruning  or  by  other  means.  Unfortunately  none 
of  these  protective  conditions  ensued.  The  growers,  encouraged  by 
the  profits  of  the  large  crop  of  1896,  pruned  their  vines  for  a  still 
larger  crop  in  1897,  and,  the  season  being  favorable  for  heavy  bearing, 
the  crop  of  this  year  was  extraordinarily  large.  The  seasonal  rainfall, 
however,  was  extraordinarily  small,  being  only  6.87  inches  or  45  per 
cent  of  the  normal  amount. 

CHART  1 


^^^g^fflffl^^^^^^^^^^ro 


SANTA  CLAff A— Rainfall  {/tEA/\//wwAL=/5£$ 


The  consequence  was  that  at  the  end  of  the  season  of  1897 
the  vines  were  still  weaker  than  before,  and  unprovided  with  reserve 
food  materials  in  their  trunks  and  roots.  As  this  condition  is  not 
readily  perceived  nor  understood  by  the  growers,  few,  if  any,  took 
precautions  to  protect  their  vines.  The  pruning  done  was  in  all 
probability  similar  to  that  of  the  previous  year  which  had  given  such 
profitable  results  in  crop.  Irrigation  was  little  practiced  at  that  time 
in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley,  and  practically  none  of  the  vineyards 
received  any  water  from  that  source. 


514 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


The  net  result  was  that  the  crops  of  1898  fell  to  about  one-quarter 
of  what  they  had  been  the  previous  year  and  many  vines  showed  clear 
evidence  of  being  in  a  diseased  or  dying  condition.  The  following 
season  the  rainfall  was  again  deficient  being  10.02  inches,  or  66  per 
cent  of  the  normal  amount.  In  the  spring  of  1899  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  vines  died,  and  by  1901  there  were  very  few  healthy  or 
living  vines  in  the  Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  few  that  remained  were 
of  varieties  which  seldom  produce  heavy  crops  (see  fig.  1),  or  were 
growing  in  soils  and  situations  which  do  not  promote  excessive  bearing 
or  which  receive  more  than  the  average  rainfall  of  the  district. 


Fig.  1. — Trousseau  vines  living  and  healthy  in  a  vineyard  of  Mataro  which 
are  all  dead.  The  Trousseau  were  pruned  short  like  the  Mataro.  They  produce 
little  or  nothing  when  pruned  in  this  way. 

In  1904  Ravaz2  presented  evidence  that  the  cause  of  Brunissure 
was  over-production,  and  in  19063  gave  the  same  explanation  of  the 
dying  of  vines  in  Algeria,  a  case  which  he  considered  of  the  same 
nature  as  the  Anaheim  and  Santa  Clara  cases  in  California. 

Strong  evidence  in  support  of  this  view  is  obtained  by  a  study  of 
the  rainfall  in  southern  California  in  connection  with  published 
accounts  of  the  crops  during  the  period  when  the  greatest  destruction 
of  vines  occurred  near  Anaheim  and  in  the  neighboring  districts. 

Chart  2  shows  the  seasonal  rainfall  at  Anaheim  from  July  1,  1878 
to  June  30,  1894.  During  this  period  the  two  most  destructive  epidem- 
ics occurred  in  southern  California. 


2  L.  Eavaz.     "La  Brunissure  de  la  Vigiie."     Montpellier,  1904. 
?-L.  Bavaz.     "Influence  de  la  Surproduction  sur  la  Vegetation  de  la  Vigne. 
Montpellier,  1906. 


Bulletin  358]  black  measles  and  water  berries 


515 


CHART  2 


ANAHEIM— Rainfall  (mean  annual**  iuo) 

C  =  HEAVY  C ROES- d= DISEASE  NOTICED- P=  DISEASE  l/VEEMSE 


516  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

In  1884  the  crops  of  grapes  were  noted  as  being  extraordinarily 
large4  in  the  Anaheim  district.  The  rainfall  of  the  preceding  winter 
had  been  equally  extraordinary,  being  26.17  inches  or  226  per  cent 
of  the  normal.  The  next  winter  the  rainfall  was  only  5.76  or  50  per 
cent  of  the  normal,  and  during  the  ensuing  season  many  complaints 
of  sick  and  weak  vines  were  made.  The  greatest  mortality  among 
the  vines  occurred,  however,  in  the  year  following  this  dry  winter. 

What  appears  to  have  happened  is  that  the  abundant  and  pro- 
longed rains  of  the  winter  and  spring  from  October,  1883  to  June, 
1884  stimulated  the  vines  to  produce  the  excessively  large  crop  of  the 
autumn  of  1884.  The  vines  thus  entered  the  winter  of  1884-1885  weak 
and  with  inadequate  reserves  and  were  unable  to  recuperate  during 
the  following  season  owing  to  the  low  rainfall  of  that  winter  which 
was  less  than  half  of  the  normal.  Many  vines  died  that  year,  but 
the  full  extent  of  the  disaster  was  not  apparent  until  the  ensuing 
season,  that  of  1886.  The  vines  had  been  so  weakened  by  the  heavy 
crop  of  1884  and  the  drought  of  the  winter  of  1884-1885,  that  even 
the  favorable  winter  of  1885-1886  was  insufficient  to  save  them. 

The  second  great  epidemic  occurred  from  1891  to  1893  in  the  San 
Gabriel  Valley.  The  rainfall  conditions  there  were  similar  to  those 
in  the  first  case.  For  four  years  the  rainfall  had  been  abundant  and 
the  crops  undoubtedly  correspondingly  large.  In  1883  M.  Grosjean 
noted  the  flourishing  condition  of  the  800  acre  vineyard  of  A.  de 
Barth  Shorb  in  the  San  Gabriel  Valley.  In  1890  a  few  of  the  vines 
showed  symptoms  of  the  California  Disease.  In  1893  Gos5  found 
all  the  vines  in  this  vineyard  dead. 

What  happened  seems  to  have  been  that  during  the  four  years  of 
adequate  and  increasing  rainfall  the  crops  were  increasingly  large. 
This  condition  obtained  until  the  autumn  of  1890.  In  the  spring  of 
1891  the  vines  appear  to  have  been  weak  and  cases  of  dying  vines 
were  noted.  The  following  winter  was  very  dry,  and  during  the 
following  summer  large  numbers  of  vines  died.  The  rest  were  so  weak 
that  most  of  them  died  the  next  year.  As  in  the  first  case,  the  greatest 
mortality  occurred  not  in  the  season  immediately  following  the  dry 
year,  but  in  the  next,  which  was  a  year  of  normal  rainfall. 

It  is  probable  that  in  both  these  cases  most  of  the  vines  could 
have  been  saved  if  bearing  or  the  attempt  to  bear  had  been  prevented 
or  curtailed  during  the  year  following  the  unusually  large  crop.  The 
growers,  however,  were  misled  by  the  belief  of  Pierce  that  the  disease 
was  necessarily  fatal.     Some  of  them  neglected  their  vineyards  and 

4  N.  Pierce.  "The  California  Vine  Disease."  Bulletin  2,  Div.  of  Veg. 
Pathology,  U.  S.  D.  A.,  1892. 

s  F.  Gos.     "La  maladie  de  Californie."     Revue  de  Vit.     T.  1,  p.  14. 


BULLETIN  358]  BLACK   MEASLES  AND  WATER  BERRIES  517 

others  attempted  to  obtain  as  large  crops  as  possible  while  the  vines 
lasted. 

In  these  three  great  epidemics,  therefore,  we  find  similar  condi- 
tions: (1)  a  series  of  years  of  abundant  rainfall;  (2)  a  year  of  very 
low  rainfall  immediately  following  this  series  of  years:  (3)  very 
heavy  crops  immediately  preceding  the  year  of  drought  and  rapid 
dying  of  the  vines  in  the  year  immediately  following  the  drought. 

The  first  epidemic  at  Anaheim  differs  from  the  others  in  that 
there  was  only  one  year  of  heavy  rainfall  immediately  preceding  the 
year  of  drought.  Most  of  the  vines,  however,  were  probably  young, 
having  been  planted  during  the  great  planting  boom  of  1879  to  1881, 
when  the  vineyard  area  of  California  increased  200  per  cent.  AVhile 
the  rainfall  was  low  during  the  seasons  of  1880-1881,6  1881-1882  and 
1882-1883,  it  was  sufficient  for  the  young  non-bearing  vines  so  that 
they  were  undoubtedly  vigorous  and  healthy  when  the  abundant  rains 
of  1883-1884  enabled  them  to  produce  the  large  crop  of  1884. 

The  evidence,  then,  is  strong  that  the  epidemic  form  of  the  trouble 
is  due  to  excessively  heavy  crops  following  good  growing  conditions 
and  abundant  rains  and  followed  or  accompanied  by  deficient  rainfall. 

The  scarcity  of  the  rainfall  is  probably  not  so  much  to  blame  as 
its  irregularity.  Vineyards  thirty  years  old  are  found  growing  and  in 
good  health  where  the  annual  rainfall  is  less  than  8  inches,  but  such 
vineyards  produce  small  crops.  The  trouble  comes  when  peculiarly 
favorable  conditions  arise  such  as  to  stimulate  the  vine  to  extraor- 
dinary efforts,  which  result  in  a  state  of  enfeeblement  from  which 
the  less  favorable  conditions  which  follow  prevent  recovery.  In  other 
words,  the  vine  dies  from  a  combination  of  over-load  and  under-sup- 
port.  Or  perhaps  a  better  description  would  be  to  say  a  load  too 
great   in   proportion   to   the   support. 

If  this  explanation  is  correct,  the  obvious  remedy  for  the  disease 
is  to  diminish  the  load  or  increase  the  support  before  the  vine  is  too 
much  weakened  to  recover.  The  load  can  be  diminished  to  any  desired 
extent  by  short  pruning  and  the  support  can  be  increased  by  improv- 
ing the  water  and  soil  conditions. 

6  There  were,  of  course,  old  vines  growing  at  this  time  and  some  of  them 
seem  to  have  shown  signs  of  Black  Measles.  (See  Pierce,  loc.  cit.,  p.  62.)  That 
there  was  no  epidemic  at  that  time  seems  to  have  been  due  to  the  absence  of 
the  abundant  rainfall  necessary  for  the  heavy  bearing  previous  to  the  dry- 
years.  A  low  rainfall  is  not  shown  in  the  records  published  by  Pierce,  who 
gives  the  rainfall  for  1880  at  Anaheim  as  22.23  inches,  which  is  nearly  twice 
the  normal  amount.  (See  Pierce  loc.  cit.,  p.  112.)  This  condition  would  be 
likely  to  produce  a  heavy  crop,  and  as  1881  was  an  exceptionally  dry  season, 
an  attack  of  the  California  Disease  might  have  been  expected.  The  rainfall 
for  1880,  however,  according  to  the  records  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  was  12.02 
inches,  which  was  insufficient  to  make  up  for  the  deficient  rainfall,  8.18  inches, 
of  the  previous  year. 


518  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


Fig.   2. — Malaga    grapes    showing   the   spotting   and    drying    of   the   berries, 
<li;jracteristic  of  Black  Measles. 


BULLETIN  358]  BLACK   MEASLES  AND  WATER  BERRIES  519 

Black  Measles. —  (See  fig.  2.)  The  theory  that  the  sporadic  form  of 
the  trouble  is  due  to  the  same  cause  as  the  epidemic  form  is  based  more 
on  analogy  and  similarity  of  symptoms  than  on  direct  evidence. 

It  seems  reasonable  to  suppose,  however,  that  if  a  crop  much  out 
of  proportion  to  the  available  water  supply  will  destroy  a  whole  vine- 
yard, it  would  also  destroy  single  vines  having  heavy  crops  in  a  vine- 
yard where  the  crops  of  different  vines  varied,  or  even  single  arms 
of  a  vine  which  bore  more  than  their  proper  proportion  of  the  crop. 

If  the  disparity  between  crop  and  water  supply  is  not  great  enough 
to  destroy  the  whole  vineyard,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  destroy  or 
seriously  injure  the  heaviest  bearing  or  the  weakest  vines. 

This  appears  to  be  what  occurs  in  the  regions  where  Black  Measles 
is  found.  These  are  most  commonly  the  irrigated  districts  and  the 
vineyards  most  affected  are  growing  in  fertile  soil. 

Variations  of  soil  in  different  parts  of  a  vineyard  are  very  common 
and  are  marked  in  many  parts  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento 
Valleys.  Variations  of  water  contents  in  the  soil,  due  to  irregularities 
of  irrigation,  are  also  common.  Irregular  or  ill-judged  pruning  will 
likewise  introduce  injurious  variations  in  the  crop  of  different  vines 
or  parts  of  a  vine.  All  the  conditions  for  local  attacks  of  the  Ana- 
heim Disease  may,  therefore,  be  present  in  parts  of  a  single  vineyard. 

During  the  seasons  1920-1921  and  1921-1922  reports  of  sick  and 
dying  vines  showing  the  symptoms  of  Black  Measles  were  particularly 
numerous.  Many  reports  of  this  kind  were  received  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  Santa  Clara  Valley  where  irrigation  of  vineyards  is  little 
practised.  A  consideration  of  the  water  conditions  from  1913  to 
1922,  as  shown  by  chart  3,  and  of  the  market  conditions  during  the 
latter  part  of  this  period  may  furnish  a  plausible  explanation  for  this 
situation. 

The  rainfall  from  1913  to  1918  was  just  a  little  above  normal  and 
fairly  regular.  In  the  season  of  1918-1919  the  rainfall  was  abundant, 
being  124  per  cent  of  the  normal.  The  unusually  high  prices  re- 
ceived for  wine  grapes  since  that  time  undoubtedly  induced  the 
growers  to  try  to  obtain  extra  large  crops  from  their  vines  by  longer 
pruning  and  in  this  attempt  they  have  been  seconded  by  the  favorable 
rainfalls  of  1913-1918  and  the  abundant  rains  of  1918-1919.  The 
vines,  therefore,  had  already  been  taxed  to  the  utmost  and  the  dry 
season  of  1919-1920,  which  had  only  57  per  cent  of  the  normal  rain- 
fall, increased  the  strain  put  upon  them. 

The  conditions  have  not  been  sufficiently  strenuous  to  bring  about 
a  disaster  like  that  of  1899-1900,  but  the  many  cases  of  Black 
Measles   reported   in   1920-1922   indicate   a  probability   that   a   dry 


520 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 


season  during  the  winter  of  1922-1923  might  have  disastrous  results 
for  the  vineyards  unless  by  extra  short  pruning  the  vines  were  given 
a  chance  to  recuperate. 

Water  Berries. — The  term  "water  berry"  as  it  is  usually  applied 
means  a  grape  which  is  "watery,"  i.e.,  lacking  in  sugar,  color,  and 
flavor  and  of  poor  shipping  quality. 

CHART  3 


UlA15101NlDlJmAiniJlJ^ 


'/J 


SANTA  CLARA  Rainfall  (jiean *  annual* /sjj) 


d=  Dtf£A5E  N0T/CZD 


The  failure  to  develop  properly  the  sugar,  acid,  flavor  and  texture 
which  should  characterize  a  well-nourished  mature  grape  is  an  unfail- 
ing consequence  of  over-bearing.  It  may  occur  on  any  vine  or  any 
part  of  a  vine,  however  vigorous  it  may  be.  It  is  more  likely  to  occur 
on  vines  or  canes  of  moderate  vigor. 

The  grapes  on  an  overloaded  vine,  therefore,  present  the  same 
symptoms  as  those  which  occur  in  the  disease  of  Water  Berries,  and 
the  cause  of  these  symptoms  is  probably  the  same  in  each  case,  namely 
undernourishment. 


Bulletin  358] 


BLACK   MEASLES  AND  WATER   BERRIES 


521 


,...-Pig-  S-~ 9verProduction  and  defoliation,  a  combination  of  weakening  con- 
ditions which  produces  Water  Berries  and  is  a  forerunner  of  Black  Measles. 


522  UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT    STATION 

Figure  3  shows  one  of  the  sets  of  conditions  under  which  Water 
Berries  are  likely  to  be  numerous  or  even  to  constitute  the  whole  crop. 
The  vines,  which  are  four-year-old  Sultaninas,  have  set  a  very  large 
crop. 

The  size  of  the  crop  and  that  of  the  canes  which  have  grown  during 
its  development  indicate  that  the  vines  had  been  extremely  vigorous 
at  the  commencement  of  the  season  and  that  current  growing  con- 
ditions had  been  good.  Unfortunately,  just  as  the  grapes  ripened, 
the  vines  were  almost  completely  defoliated  by  red-spider  and  vine- 
hoppers. 

As  soon  as  the  leaves  have  gone,  all  constructive  work  of  the  plant 
ceases.  If  the  grapes  are  not  fully  matured,  they  cease  to  develop 
and  become  "water  berries."  If  they  are  mature,  the  crop  may  be 
marketable  as  good  fruit,  but  the  wood  will  be  lacking  in  reserves. 
As  long  as  the  fruit  is  developing,  it  is  the  first  to  draw  on  the  food 
material  produced  by  the  leaves,  so  that  if  the  crop  is  very  large  there 
is  nothing  left  for  the  rest  of  the  vine.  After  the  fruit  is  removed, 
the  food  from  the  leaves  is  diverted  to  the  buds,  canes  and  body  of  the 
vine,  which  then  lay  up  the  stores  needed  to  carry  them  through 
the  winter  and  to  start  them  off  well  the  following  season.  If  the 
leaves  have  disappeared,  no  food  is  available  to  store  away  and  the 
vines  enter  the  next  season  in  a  condition  of  semi-starvation. 

Relation  of  the  Three  Types. — The  three  types  of  disease  which  I 
have  discussed  appear  to  be  simply  three  stages  or  degrees  of  the  same 
disease. 

Under  conditions  leading  to  under-nourishment  of  the  fruit  we 
have  Water  Berries.  This  under-nourishment  is  due  to  an  excess  of 
crop  over  vigor.  A  very  weak  vine  may  show  water  berries  with  a 
small  crop ;  a  strong  vine  does  so  only  with  a  very  large  one.  On  a 
strong  vine  there  may  be  over-loading  of  a  single  arm  or  cane  even 
when  the  total  crop  of  the  vine  is  not  excessive.  Over-bearing,  there- 
fore, does  not  necessarily  mean  a  large  crop,  but  rather  a  crop  too 
large  for  the  vigor  of  the  vine,  or  arm,  or  cane  which  bears  it. 

More  intense  or  prolonged  conditions  of  a  similar  character  lead 
to  under-nourishment  of  the  whole  vine  and  the  occurrence  of  Black 
Measles.  The  conditions  which  seem  most  commonly  responsible  for 
this  form  of  the  disease  are  over-bearing  for  one  or  two  years  accom- 
panied by  some  condition  which  diminishes  the  recuperative  powers  of 
the  plant,  such  as  early  loss  of  leaves  by  frost  or  defoliating  insects, 
attacks  of  black  knot,  root  rot,  "phylloxera  or  nematodes,  and  deficiency 
of  water  in  the  soil. 


BULLETIN  358]  BLACK   MEASLES  AND  WATER  BERRIES  523 

The  Anaheim  Disease  appears  to  differ  from  Black  Measles  only 
in  the  thoroughness  with  which  it  attacks  practically  all  the  vines  in  a 
vinevard  or  in  a  district.  This  fact  indicates  that  it  is  due  to  some 
very  general  cause,  or  causes.  The  evidence  points  to  over-bearing 
and  drought  as  the  two  principal  cooperating  causes  in  this  instance. 

This  theory  does  not  preclude  the  idea  that  there  may  also  be  some 
infective  organism  or  facultative  parasite  concerned  in  the  process. 
While  the  first  and  predisposing  causes  of  the  trouble  seem  to  be, 
generally  speaking,  over-bearing  and  lack  of  water,  there  are  un- 
doubtedly other  cooperating  causes  of  weakness  present  in  many  cases, 
and  any  weakness  of  the  vine  makes  it  more  susceptible  to  many 
parasites. 

It  is  quite  likely,  therefore,  that  the  final  stages  of  the  disease 
and  its  worst  cases  may  owe  their  severity  to  some  undetected  infective 
microorganism  or  facultative  parasite  to  which  the  vine  is  susceptible 
only  after  being  physiologically  weakened  by  under  nounrishment. 

Prevention  and  Cure. — If  the  theory  I  have  advanced  is  correct, 
prevention  of  disease  depends  on  properly  adjusting  the  crop  to  the 
condition  of  health  and  vigor  for  each  vine  and  for  the  parts  of  the 
vine. 

Any  vine  the  growth  of  which  appears  deficient  in  quantity  or 
defective  in  quality  at  the  end  of  the  season  should  be  pruned  shorter 
than  it  was  at  the  previous  pruning.  The  number  of  buds  left  on  a 
vine,  a  fruit  cane,  or  a  spur  should  be  in  proportion  to  its  size  and 
quality. 

Any  unusually  large  crop,  especially  if  it  is  accompanied  by  Water 
Berries  should  be  a  warning  to  the  grower  that  he  must  be  very 
moderate  in  his  demands  on  the  vine  for  the  following  year.  This 
caution  is  the  more  necessary  when  other  conditions  tending  to  dimin- 
ish the  vigor  of  the  vine  are  present.  If  care  is  taken  regularly  the 
danger  of  the  severer  forms  of  the  trouble  will  be  much  diminished,  if 
not  removed  entirely. 

Whether  a  cure  can  be  affected  will  undoubtedly  depend  on  how 
far  the  disease  has  progressed.  Cases  of  recovery  are  frequently 
noted.  Vines  which  show  Black  Measles  one  year  may  be  free  from 
it  the  next.  Bischowsky,  in  a  report  to  the  State  Commission  of  Viti- 
culture made  during  the  second  epidemic  in  southern  California, 
noted  the  recovery  of  a  Mataro  vineyard  which  had  shown  serious 
signs  of  the  Anaheim  Disease  the  previous  year.  Not  much  attention 
was  given  to  this  report  on  account  of  Pierce's  theory  that  recovery 
of  the  vines  was  proof  that  the  mysterious  and  fatal  disease,  which 


524  UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT    STATION 

he  assumed  the  Anaheim  to  be,  was  not  present  although  the  symptoms 
were  identical  with  those  of  the  more  serious  malady. 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact  that  vines  showing  Water  Berries  and 
Black  Measles,  if  they  are  still  alive  and  show  a  growth,  even  a  small 
one,  of  mature  wood  and'  no  extensive  dead  parts,  may  often  or,  I 
may  say,  usually  be  saved  by  short  pruning — down  to  base-buds  in 
severe  cases — and  by  fertilization  and  other  cultural  measures  which 
tend  to  invigorate  the  plants. 


STATION  PUBLICATIONS  AVAILABLE  FOE  FREE  DISTRIBUTION 


BULLETINS 

No.  No. 

253.  Irrigation   and    Soil   Conditions   in   the  325. 

Sierra  Nevada  Foothills,  California. 

261.  Melaxuma    of    the    Walnut,    "Juglans 

regia."  328. 

262.  Citrus   Diseases    of   Florida    and    Cuba  331. 

Compared  with  these  of  California.  332. 

263.  Size  Grades  for  Ripe  Olives.  334. 
268.   Growing  and  Grafting  Olive  Seedlings. 

270.  A  Comparison  of  Annual  Cropping,  fii-  335. 
ennial  Cropping,  and  Green  Manures 

on  the  Yield  of  Wheat.  336. 

273.   Preliminary  Report  on  Kearney  Vine- 
yard Experimental  Drain.  337. 

275.  The  Cultivation  of  Belladonna  in  Cali-  339. 

f-ornia. 

276.  The   Pomegranate.  340. 

278.  Grain   Sorghums. 

279.  Irrigation  of  Rice  in  California.  341. 

280.  Irrigation  of  Alfalfa  in  the  Sacramento  342. 

Valley.  343. 

283.  The  Olive  Insects  of  California.  344. 

285.  The  Milk  Goat  in  California. 

286.  Commercial    Fertilizers.  345. 

287.  Vinegar  from  Waste  Fruits. 

294.   Bean    Culture   in    California.  346. 

297.  The  Almond  in  California.  347. 

298.  Seedless  Raisin  Grapes. 

299.  The  Use  of  Lumber  on  California  Farms.  348. 
304.   A  study  on  the  Effects  of  Freezes  on  349. 

Citrus   in   California. 

308.   I.  Fumigation  with  Liquid  Hydrocyanic  350. 

Acid.  II.  Physical  and  Chemical  Prop-  351. 

erties  of  Liquid  Hydrocyanic  Acid.  352. 
310.   Plum  Pollination. 

312.  Mariout  Barley.  353. 

313.  Pruning  Young   Deciduous  Fruit  Trees.  354. 

316.  The   Kaki   or   Oriental  Persimmon.  355. 

317.  Selections  of   Stocks  in   Citrus    Propa-  357. 

gation. 
319.   Caprifigs  and  Caprification. 

321.   Commercial  Production  of  Grape  Syrup.  358. 

324.   Storage  of  Perishable  Fruit  at  Freezing 

Temperatures. 


Rice  Irrigation  Measurements  and  Ex- 
periments in  Sacramento  Valley, 
1914-1919. 

Prune  Growing  in  California. 

Phylloxera-Resistant  Stocks. 

Walnut  Culture  in  California. 

Preliminary  Volume  Tables  for  Second- 
Growth  Redwoods. 

Cocoanut  Meal  as  a  Feed  for  Dairy 
Cows  and  Other  Livestock. 

The  Preparation  of  Nicotine  Dust  as 
an  Insecticide. 

Some  Factors  of  Dehydrater  Efficiency. 

The  Relative  Cost  of  Making  Logs  from 
Small    and    Large    Timber. 

Control  of  the  Pocket  Gopher  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Studies  on  Irrigation  of  Citrus  Groves. 

Hog  Feeding  Experiments. 

Cheese  Pests  and  Their  Control. 

Cold  Storage  as  an  Aid  to  the  Market- 
ing of  Plums. 

Fertilizer  Experiments  with  Citrus 
Trees. 

Almond    Pollination. 

The  Control  of  Red  Spiders  in  Decidu- 
ous  Orchards. 

Pruning  Young  Olive  Trees. 

A  Study  of  Sidedraft  and  Tractor 
Hitches. 

Agriculture  in  Cut-over  Redwood  Lands. 

California  State  Dairy  Cow  Competition. 

Further  Experiments  in  Plum  Pollina 
tion. 

Bovine  Infectious  Abortion. 

Results  of  Rice  Experiments  in   1922. 

The  Peach  Twig  Borer. 

A  Self-mixing  Dusting  Machine  for 
Applying  Dry  Insecticides  and 
Fungicides. 

Black  Measles,  Water  Berries,  and 
Related   Vine    Troubles. 


CIRCULARS 

No.  No. 

70.  Observations    on    the    Status    of    Corn  170. 

Growing  in  California. 

82.  The  Common  Ground  Squirrel  of  Cali-  172. 

fornia.  173. 
87.  Alfalfa. 

110.  Green  Manuring  in  California.  174. 

111.  The  Use  of  Lime  and  Gypsum  on  Cali-  175. 

fornia  Soils. 

113.  Correspondence  Courses  in  Agriculture.  178. 

126.  Spraying  for  the  Grape  Leaf  Hopper.  179. 

127.  House  Fumigation. 

136.  Helilotit8    indica    as    a    Green-Manure  181. 

Crop  for  California. 

144.   Oidium  or  Powdery  Mildew  of  the  Vine.  182. 
148.   "Lungworms." 

151.  Feeding  and  Management  of  Hogs.  183. 

152.  Some  Observations  on  the  Bulk  Hand-  184. 

ling  of  Grain  in   California.  188. 

155.   Bovine  Tuberculosis.  189. 

157.   Control  of  the  Pear  Scab.  190. 

159.  Agriculture  in  the  Imperial   Valley.  193. 

160.  Lettuce  Growing  in  California.  198. 

161.  Potatoes  in   California.  199. 

165.  Fundamentals   of    Sugar   Beet   Culture  201. 

under  California  Conditions.  202. 

166.  The   Country  Farm    Bureau. 

167.  Feeding  Stuffs  of  Minor  Importance.  203. 
169.  The   1918   Grain  Crop.  205. 


Fertilizing  California  Soils  for  the  1918 

Crop. 
Wheat  Culture. 
The    Construction    of    the    Wood-Hoop 

Silo. 
Farm   Drainage  Methods. 
Progress  Report  on  the  Marketing  and 

Distribution  of  Milk. 
The  Packing  of  Apples  in  California. 
Factors    of    Importance    in    Producing 

Milk  of  Low  Bacterial  Count. 
Control     of     the     California      Ground 

Squirrel. 
Extending  the  Area  of  Irrigated  Wheat 

in  California  for  1918. 
Infectious  Abortion  in  Cows. 
A  Flock  of  Sheep  on  the  Farm. 
Lambing   Sheds. 
Winter  Forage  Crops. 
Agriculture .  Clubs   in   California. 
A  Study  of  Farm  Labor  in  California. 
Syrup  from  Sweet  Sorghum. 
Onion  Growing  in  California. 
Helpful  Hints  to  Hog  Raisers. 
County    Organizations    for   Rural    Fire 

Control. 
Peat  as  a  Manure  Substitute. 
Blackleg. 


CIRCULARS — Continued 


No.  No. 

206.  Jack  Cheese.  237. 

208.  Summary  of  the  Annual  Reports  of  the 

Farm  Advisors  of  California.  238. 

209.  The  Function  of  the  Farm  Bureau.  239. 

210.  Suggestions  to  the  Settler  in  California. 

212.   Salvaging  Rain-Damaged  Prunes.  240. 

214.  Seed  Treatment  for  the  Prevention  of 

Cereal  Smuts.  241. 

215.  Feeding  Dairy  Cows  in  California. 

217.  Methods   for   Marketing   Vegetables   in  242. 

California.  244. 

218.  Advanced    Registry   Testing   of    Dairy  245. 

Cows.  246. 

219.  The  Present  Status  of  Alkali. 

224.  Control    of   the    Brown    Apricot    Scale  247. 

and  the  Italian  Pear  Scale  on  Decid-  248. 

uous  Fruit  Trees. 

225.  Propagation  of  Vines.  249. 
228.  Vineyard  Irrigation  in  Arid  Climates.  250. 
230.  Testing  Milk,    Cream,    and   Skim   Milk 

for  Butterfat.  251. 

232.  Harvesting    and    Handling    California 

Cherries  for  Eastern  Shipment. 

233.  Artificial  Incubation.  252. 

234.  Winter  Injury  to  Young  Walnut  Trees  253. 

during  1921-22.  254. 

235.  Soil  Analysis  and  Soil  and  Plant  Inter- 

relations. 255. 

236.  The  Common  Hawks  and  Owls  of  Cali- 

fornia  from    the     Standpoint  of  the  256. 

Rancher. 


Directions  for  the  Tanning  and  Dress- 
ing of  Furs. 

The  Apricot  in  California. 

Harvesting  and  Handling  Apricots  and 
Plums  for  Eastern  Shipment: 

Harvesting  and  Handling  Pears  for 
Eastern   Shipment. 

Harvesting  and  Handling  Peaches  for 
Eastern   Shipment. 

Poultry  Feeding. 

Central  Wire  Bracing  for  Fruit  Trees. 

Vine  Pruning  Systems. 

Desirable  Qualities  of  California  Bar- 
ley for  Export. 

Colonization  and  Rural  Development. 

Some  Common  Errors  in  Vine  Pruning 
and  Their  Remedies. 

Replacing  Missing  Vines. 

Measurement  of  Irrigation  Water  on 
the  Farm. 

Recommendations  Concerning  the  Com- 
mon Diseases  and  Parasites  of 
Poultry   in    California.   "* 

Supports  for  Vines. 

Vineyard  Plans. 

The  Use  of  Artificial  Light  to  Increase 
Winter  Egg  Production. 

Leguminous  Plants  as  Organic  Fertil- 
izer in  California  Agriculture. 

The  Control  of  Wild  Morning  Glory. 


/ 


